This year for Christmas, Arrowhead students had received various gifts. Some gifts were wanted, some were unexpected, and some were favored. 

Christmas is a particular holiday where people can receive gifts that are widely different—even if it’s for the same person. 

“I got pajama pants and skin care products. I got a stuffed animal snail, socks and a bracelet from my host parents,” says Johanna Wimmer, a senior foreign exchange student at Arrowhead.

“I got some luggage, an arduino which is like a little micro controller, and a pair of vans,” says Katherine Schoeppel. 

Some gifts came unexpectedly this year which added to the specialness of Christmas 2023. 

“I didn’t have a Christmas list this year so it was nothing I got was on a written list. I liked all the gifts, it was more than I expected,” says Whimmer.

A common tradition for Christmas is for people to make wishlists, whether that be various gifts people want to receive or a list from a certain store to get clothing or specific products. Certain gifts of various sizes and forms can be hard to wrap. Some wrapping techniques gave away certain gifts. 

“The luggage wasn’t wrapped; it just had a bow on it so I knew right away,” says Schoeppel. 

“I couldn’t really tell most of the packaging but the pajamas I could tell was some type of clothing,” says Wimmer.

Christmas is not only about what gifts people receive but also about giving to others. Clothing is a staple gift when it comes to getting something for someone else. 

“I got my brother a Fireball cinnamon whiskey t-shirt because he really wanted one and a four function casio calculator,” says Schoeppel

“I got a hoodie for Sophia (another foreign exchange student at Arrowhead). We gave our host parents ‘baseball caps’ with ‘best host mom and dad’ with our home country’s flag,” says Wimmer.